Word of mouth can be a powerful thing, as Greenbrier High School’s Kris Cannon found out.

That was what got the ball rolling, culminating with Cannon’s official commitment Thursday to play football for Huntingdon College.

“I have some friends in Alabama that live across the street from the college, and he mentioned my name to the coach and he came and watched me play a game,” said Cannon. “It kind of just went from there.”

Cannon, who started looking at colleges halfway through his junior year, made a visit to the Division III school in Montgomery, Ala., in January and was won over by the whole experience.

“It’s a smaller school. They’re actually one of the top teams in their division, so that kind of caught my eye, too,” Cannon said. “It was just the overall home feel of the school. It’s real close-knit; everyone knows each other.”

Cannon’s father, Scott, thought the school would be ideal for his son as well.

“It’s a small campus, and it fits his personality,” said Scott Cannon. “I’m excited for him and hope he takes advantage of it.”

Cannon played both ways for the Wolfpack, but is slated to be a fullback/H-back for the Hawks next year. No matter where he plays, Greenbrier head coach Kevin Hunt has faith in Cannon’s ability to succeed.

“He’s certainly got the physical talent to play at the next level,” said Hunt. “He did a great job for us here. He played hard every snap, played hard in practice and was certainly an asset to our program.”

While the school is a little farther away than he would like, it wasn’t an overriding factor.

“I’d like to be a little closer to home, but it’s fine as long as I get to play football,” Cannon said.